How far can I overclock an i5 2500k without changing the voltage?

Northwoods · Jul 7, 2012

I'm just looking for a mild overclock and wondering if it's possible to overclock without touching the voltage. I have a GIGABYTE GA-P67X-UD3-B3. I'm new to overclocking and concerned about moving my voltage ie, if I move the voltage would I be able to set it back to defaults?

And while I'm at it Anybody have any recommendations on good heatsink in a price range of $50-$100?

redduc900 · Jul 7, 2012

Yes, you can overclock without touching the Vcore / Vcc, probably to around 4.0GHz or so at ~1.20V w/ Turbo Boost. And yes, the Vcore / Vcc can be set back to the default voltage. As far as HSFs, there are a number of good ones in that price range, but you'll need to do some research because of possible space restrictions w/ your case and RAM modules.

Archer0915 · Jul 7, 2012

redduc900 said:
Yes, you can overclock without touching the Vcore / Vcc, probably to around 4.0GHz or so at ~1.20V w/ Turbo Boost. And yes, the Vcore / Vcc can be set back to the default voltage. As far as HSFs, there are a number of good ones in that price range, but you'll need to do some research because of possible space restrictions w/ your case and RAM modules.

Yeah listen to the part about turbo. Many have called it a "Gimmick" but using it to give you a boost over your OC is all good.

doz · Jul 7, 2012

Archer0915 said:
Yeah listen to the part about turbo. Many have called it a "Gimmick" but using it to give you a boost over your OC is all good.

Its a gimmick once you start reaching the higher clocks

Archer0915 · Jul 7, 2012

doz said:
Its a gimmick once you start reaching the higher clocks

Not on my Ivy. I turbo up to 4.8 and keep temps under control. I will have to try it on my sandy.

doz · Jul 7, 2012

What Im saying is once you get to the higher overclocks up in the 4.7, 4.8 range, turbo wont help. If you can turbo to those, usually you can run all 4 cores at that no problem. It would only be beneficial if you are looking to save that slight bit of power.

Archer0915 · Jul 7, 2012

doz said:
What Im saying is once you get to the higher overclocks up in the 4.7, 4.8 range, turbo wont help. If you can turbo to those, usually you can run all 4 cores at that no problem. It would only be beneficial if you are looking to save that slight bit of power.

Oh yeah absolutely and that is definitely the case with SB but a high (4.5+) on IB can get way too hot for most air cooling. I am saying set the OC lower and turbo up the rest of the way.

This will also apply to SB though as you have pointed out if you can get a good OC without it, it is almost a moot point.

Northwoods · Jul 8, 2012

I have looked over the overclocking Sandy bridge guide but since I'm not overclocking to 4.5(as of now) I'm assuming there will be a few steps not applied

Here's what I've gathered so far
Know the original Ram timings/freq

1.Set overclock tuner to manuel
2.Set max turbo to 4.0 in my case (or is that wrong?)
3.Enter the original ram timings/freq

4.4 Find Load Line Calibration, or LLC. Set it to 50%. If it is in levels, 5/10 or 3/5.

< I'm clueless about this step and unsure if it applies to me.>

5.5 Go to CPU features turn off C5 C1 and EIST / Speedstep . Some CPUs/boards will still hold this OC with speedstep left on. I suggest you turn it off for now. Also turn off any power saving features. You may also disable virtualization if you will never use it. Note that, SOME CPUS may require CPU PLL overvoltage to be turned on to hit 4.5Ghz. It is unlikely.

< and this step since I won't be altering voltage do I just disregard it >

it would be very much appreciated if someone could give some input if I'm headed in the right direction and what needs to done differently, if it does.

Please keep in mind I'm totally new to this as this will be my first overclock.

Archer0915 · Jul 8, 2012

Northwoods said:
I have looked over the overclocking Sandy bridge guide but since I'm not overclocking to 4.5(as of now) I'm assuming there will be a few steps not applied

Here's what I've gathered so far
Know the original Ram timings/freq

1.Set overclock tuner to manuel
2.Set max turbo to 4.0 in my case (or is that wrong?)
3.Enter the original ram timings/freq

4.4 Find Load Line Calibration, or LLC. Set it to 50%. If it is in levels, 5/10 or 3/5.

< I'm clueless about this step and unsure if it applies to me.>

5.5 Go to CPU features turn off C5 C1 and EIST / Speedstep . Some CPUs/boards will still hold this OC with speedstep left on. I suggest you turn it off for now. Also turn off any power saving features. You may also disable virtualization if you will never use it. Note that, SOME CPUS may require CPU PLL overvoltage to be turned on to hit 4.5Ghz. It is unlikely.

< and this step since I won't be altering voltage do I just disregard it >

it would be very much appreciated if someone could give some input if I'm headed in the right direction and what needs to done differently, if it does.

Please keep in mind I'm totally new to this as this will be my first overclock.

First step would simply raise LLC to maximum (because you are not altering voltage it should not create excess heat) turn off turbo core (you can mess with that later), raise the multi by one and test with stability testing program. Each time you pass raise the multi.

There is no need to mess with the c states at this level. Leave speed step on as well.

doz · Jul 8, 2012

Im not sure if it was a motherboard issue, or cpu issue as it was long ago but I wouldnt turn off the C-States or speedstep.

When overclocked, SB would have an issue of blue-screening randomly when overclocked and the only fix was to leave the CStates/Speedstep enabled. Lots of people had MAJOR issues and this was the fix oddly enough. Id personally leave them enabled.

How far can I overclock an i5 2500k without changing the voltage?

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